Language Studies

Hebrew Thoughts

geviyyâh - גְּוִיָּה (Strong's #1472)
Body

גְּוִיָּה geviyyâh (Strong's #1472, 13x) is most commonly used of a corpse (as 1 Samuel 31:10,12 of the dead bodies of Saul and his sons, particularly of those on a battlefield, Psalm 110:6, Nahum 3:3) or carcase (as in Judges 14:8-9 of Samson and the lion carcase).

It is, however, occasionally used of a living body usually implying powerlessness as in these references:

• the body as all that is left during a time of famine (Genesis 47:18)
• the body as under the dominion of foreign kings (Nehemiah 9:37)

Rather than weakened bodies it could also be used of heavenly bodies:

• the four living creatures in Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 1:11,23)
• the body of the heavenly man / messiah which appeared like a precious stone (Daniel 10:6)

Incidentally, גּוֹי gôy/gôwy (Strong's #1471), the word for "nation" (plural: gôyîm), derives from the same root as גְּוִיָּה geviyyâh: גֵּוָה gêvâh (Strong's #1465). It is often used specifically of pagan gentile nations who are not God's people, although occasionally even Israel is called a gôy. Perhaps there is a negative sense here in that nations that do not know God are virtually "corpses", they are "dead" towards God.

Hebrew has upwards of 80 named parts of the body but no true word for "body". This demonstrates the underlying unity of the human person, in that although distinguished by 80+ terms and descriptions many are interchangeable in poetry and man is never thought of as a post-mortem anatomy experiment nor a compartmentalised being, but a whole person, body and soul.

Other interesting omissions include:

• No true word for "brain", heart/mind is used instead.



• No words for "nerves" or "blood vessels", although "blood" דָּם dâm (Strong's #1818) is a key term.



• No language for "lungs" or "diaphragm", key terms for the Greeks. For "breath" (נֶשַׁמַה neshamah (Strong's #5397) is not powerful of itself for God can withdraw it. Man is very definitely conceived to be "in-breathed" by the Spirit/breath of God and his body is powerless without God's life-giving force.

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